There is, however, a segment of population that continues to be wary of anything that has a screen with weird looking icons on it. While they may theoretically understand the benefits of technology, they find the newer developments more intrusive than helpful, and designed to complicate things.

They prefer to stick with what they know even if that means losing out on some great help.

Usually, such people tend to be of the older variety, senior citizens in particular. Now this is not to generalize, but only to help you with suggestions should you know somebody (regardless of their age) who isn’t sold on the need to keep up to date with the marvels and usefulness of newer technology.

Make her Internet-savvy

Whenever I’m home for vacations, my mother hates the sight of me glued to my laptop. “What on earth do you do on it the whole day?” she has asked me many a time in exasperation.

Well, I’m not on it the whole day but you get the picture.

Honestly, in answering her I don’t even know where to begin. I take care of almost all my business online. There are emails to reply to, research and writing to do, networks to form, catch up on the news, pursue my interests, book airline tickets, watch favorite old shows on YouTube, listen to music, edit photographs, update my blog, read new recipes, etc. etc. etc.

Indeed, what do I do on it the whole day?

Next time your mother (or father, or a grandparent) asks you what you do online, do the following:

· Cite a few concrete examples regarding your activity online.

· Think your answer through and present it in a way that makes them see what can be done online. The more vivid your description, the bigger the impression it will make.

· Try to find out about their latest interests and tell them how the Internet can help them further those interests.

· Spend an hour a day with them online, teaching them how to make the most of the search engines.

A for app. ’nuff said!

There’s a reason they are called smartphones. They get so much done! I couldn’t live without my iPhone, I have so many apps set up around what I need to get done the most. I have one app that tells me the nutritional value of the food I’m planning to eat, another that tells me about where the next gas station is when I’m travelling, or when my car is due in the garage, a home security app that detects any motion around my house when I’m not home, so on and so forth.

Buy your dear Luddite mother a smartphone and encourage her to make friends with it. Do some research about the best apps for women her age and teach her how to use them. When she goes through an app that monitors her blood pressure or sugar level, she may feel more inclined to keep using it.

Technology is NOT complicated

Many people simply get overwhelmed by what’s going on around them. They press a button and god knows what pops up on their phone!

Be sympathetic to your mother’s nervousness around such gadgets as the smartphone. Tell her that it may look complicated, different than anything she has ever tried, but that it is actually very easy to use, and that it is only a matter of practice. Then give her that practice.

Technology could be her best friend

Technology may be the love of pimply geniuses but its use is to help everybody on the planet. Explain to your mom that technology is actually reliable and how to make the most of her gadgets. Also explain to her that as she gets older, her ease around technology may make all the difference in how she fares psychologically.

One of the undesirable side effects of a world increasingly glued to the Internet is a steady erosion of investment in real time relationships. People don’t want to catch up with their friends as often now. We have seen their latest Facebook update and know that they are fine so no need to call them now.

Our presence online keeps expanding and in turn the importance of the Internet and other technology in our lives also keeps increasing. Unless your mother learns to move over TV and tap into the glorious reserves of the web, she may feel left out as everybody she knows may have flocked to the Internet and made their home there by now.

For retired persons especially, a smart use of technology may keep their minds off rumination.

Brian Zeng is associated with CCTVHotDeals a leading e-commerce company in the wireless cctv cameras industry. He is a writer for CCTVHotDeals and has many years of experience partnering with clients to build their business through development and implementation of track-proven Internet marketing strategies. Follow him on Google+.